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| Amazing starfish shape! |
Did you know that the five red pathways at Punta
Sur, Isla Mujeres, are actually in the shape of a starfish?
We didn’t.
It’s a bit like discovering the three-thousand-year-old chalk image in
the hills of England, which is really an ancient 360-foot-long rendition of a white horse, the Uffington White Horse.
Okay, maybe it’s not that notable, but for us, the starfish was very cool to see.
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| The four carbon-fiber blades are powerful |
Expat David Daniel captured the image with
his newest boy-toy: a DJI Phantom 3 UAV. Also known by the misnomer of drone, the UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAS
Unmanned Aircraft System, comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Highly conscious of the potential
danger of the remote-controlled UAV,
David pointed out the four whirling carbon-fiber
blades as they spun up, lifting the vehicle aloft.
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| David: It's easy to fly this UAV |
Then, with a noise akin to a hive of active
bees, the aircraft sailed away, hovering off the southern point of Isla Mujeres
as it broadcast streaming video to David’s iPad.
Woohoo!
What beautiful images.
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| Wow! Isla Mujeres from Punta Sur |
For both
David and Diane Daniel, traditional photography is an outlet for their
creativity, and operating the UAV gives David yet another instrument for
crafting beautiful images.
At Punta Sur, a family of curious
Argentinian tourists quickly gathered around David as he maneuvered the UAV for
better images.
Curiosity is a familiar reaction, typically with the technology-savvy under-thirty crowd, and especially Europeans.
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| Images are difficult to see in bright sunlight |
When operating the remote-controlled device, he and Diane are mindful to not intrude on anyone's privacy. They don’t buzz low over
crowds or deliberately focus on individuals.
David said even with the advanced cameras, measuring distance from
space is difficult. A few times, they
used the UAV to try to locate a pod of dolphins that cavort along the eastern
side of the island, only to discover that pinpointing a fast-moving six-foot
creature is nearly impossible. On the
other hand, flying around a stationary object is a breeze.
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| Diane Daniel, keeping a very hot Sparky company |
UAVs are primarily fun toys used
for taking great videos or stills from a vantage point normally unavailable to
photographers.
They also have useful
commercial applications; for instance, when two Canadian friends recently
decided to sell their home, the real estate company immediately scheduled an
aerial photo session with a UAV. It’s
the new standard for real estate listings.
David says he operates his UAV just for the enjoyment.
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| My photo of David's DJI Phantom 3 UAV |
Currently, the UAVs owned by individuals vastly outnumber military drones, with
estimates of over a million sold by 2015. The popularity has created a few hazards, necessitating new laws to
govern their use. Whether you refer to
them as drones, UAVs, or a UAS, they are banned within five miles of airports
worldwide and prisons in many countries.
The newer models are equipped with updated
software that has no fly zones or hot spots, prohibiting the vehicle from
lifting off. Older versions still exist, prompting many countries to erect signage at airports forbidding the use of
this type of equipment.
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| The drone's photo of me taking its photo |
It
turns out our home is within that five-mile radius of our local, almost-abandoned, and seldom-used airport. So no high-flying photographs of our
casa. It’s probably a good thing, I
think our ‘dainties’ were still hanging on the laundry line.
If you would like to see more
great photographs and videos, visit David and Diane’s New Nomad’s Facebook
page.
Here’s the link. New Nomads
Their photography will wow you!
Hasta Luego, Lynda, Lawrie, Sparky, and Thomas
.
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| Come to papa! David Daniel and his new toy. |
Or
1 comment:
Wow - who knew? Love the starfish!! The rest was too complicated for me. Glad to have the Daniels on the island.
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